the association 2013

10 the
association
from holidaymaker
Nina Goswami learns of a remarkable life taking in Sandhurst,
‘always been
a tropical
vein running
through my
life’
“Think of it as a free
holiday.” That was how Dr
Leslie Fox persuaded his
wife, Ivi, to let him look into
the possibility of becoming
the headmaster of The
Assam Valley School.
It was the late 1990s and
Dr Fox had spent five years
as the deputy headmaster
of Yarm School, in the
northeast of England. He
was in the mood for having
his own headship.
“I’d applied for a copy of
the Assam Valley School’s
prospectus and the next
thing I knew I received a
telephone call inviting me
to visit the school in
Assam,” explains Dr Fox. “I
was told that they would fly
my wife and me out to
Assam – Club Class – and
that there was no obligation
to take up the job.”
Having persuaded Ivi to
take up the “free holiday”,
the couple headed for The
Assam Valley School.
“There was no doubt
about it, as soon as we saw
the place we had a feeling
of excitement,” says Dr
Fox. “My wife sought assurances
from the tea company
- Williamson Magor –
that ran the school about
the kidnap risk in Assam
that she’d heard about.
And, once she was reassured,
she turned to me
and said ‘We can go if we
can take our two cats’.”
Despite starting his
working life as an officer in
British Army’s Royal Corps
of Signals, Dr Fox jokingly
says that their move to India
was “one of the most
difficult things he’d ever
faced.”
Travelling to their new
home in Assam, the couple
stopped over at a guesthouse
in Kolkata, where
the challenges began –
partly because of their cats.
“You can imagine, after
travelling from England, we
were exhausted and it was
steaming hot,” says Dr Fox.
“So trying to communicate
to the guesthouse staff that
we needed an equivalent of
a cat litter tray for our two
middle-aged cats became
quite a challenge.
“Then one of cats managed
to get stuck behind a
massive mahogany wardrobe
that weighed at least
two tonnes. We were not
best pleased.”
But that was not the end
of their first day in India. Dr
Fox had agreed to test out
a new satellite phone for
one of his former military
colleagues.
“Within hours of testing
the phone out our guesthouse
was surrounded by
police,” Dr Fox says.
“So all the incidents that
had happened in 24 hours
meant that we were almost
in tears even before
reaching Assam!”
The pair did, however,
make it to Assam and the
new school that would
become their home for the
next four years.
The Assam Valley School
opened in 1995 - four years
before Dr Fox became the
headmaster - which meant
the father-of-one had the
opportunity to build on the
foundations of North East
India’s most prestigious
co-educational boarding
school. And for Dr Fox that
meant “A School for
Adventure”.
During his tenure the
number of pupils increased
from 450 to 680, with
children between the ages
of nine and 12-years-old.
“In addition to increasing
the size of the school in
terms of both pupil
numbers and infrastructure,
I derive particular
satisfaction from having
introduced Craft, Design &
Technology as a curriculum
subject,” says Dr Fox.
His other achievements
included introducing music
and drama examinations.
With the assistance of his
wife, Dr Fox also
introduced a Western
choir and orchestra.
Then, in 2001, Dr Fox led
a group of 35 students and
staff on a tour of UK
schools and colleges to
give performances of
traditional dance and music
from northeast India.
This headteacher’s main